The Penguin Brotherhood
by Extreme Light 9
Summary: Skipper was once a member of a sceret organization, but when he discovered their true goal he betrayed them. They stalked him ever since and found him in the end. Now he must form a union of penguins to stop them. (Some of the heroes and enemies are on the pictures)
1. Chapter 1 - The Mark

Chapter 1 – The mark

A/N: I'm back with a new story. This is a sequel to Waddling Shadows: return of the Peace Keeper but it won't contain fantasy but mysteries and revelations of a certain paranoid penguin leader who never told the truth about his origins. It's Skipper.

There was a long, grey table in the middle of dark room. There were some large screens on the walls and chairs around that table. In the end of long grey, a penguin was sitting and drinking coffee with fish in his mug. He had a brown cap like the ones generals on his head, had a half armored face with a glowing red eye like Dr. Blow hole, and his left flipper was made of metal.

Then there was door knocking. "Come in" the mysterious penguin answered.

A penguin figure clad in black came in. he wore black mask that had big white eyes. "Sir, the search squad came back from their mission" he said as he saluted.

"Really, and what did you find?" he asked and took a sip from his mug.

"We have located the traitor, sir" he answered and the penguin that seems to be the leader paused "Which one?" he asked, showing slight interest.

The masked penguin waddled closer to the table with a file in his flipper "It's Lee, sir" he passed the file sending it sliding to his leader. The file had pictures of a flat-headed penguin with others. One was thin, one was hefty with head feathers on his head like a mohawk, and a young round one.

"He lives in New York City, in Central Park Zoo and he's the leader of those three penguins you see there. Their daily activities are random but also scheduled and according to what the spy penguin crew reported, Lee taught them well" and once he was done with the analysis he waited for orders.

The superior penguin grinned darkly and glared at the pictures "Oh Lee, I can still remember the day we've found him like if it was yesterday. He was one of the victims of the Great War. We found him lying on the icy coast and was injured badly so, we took him with us and gave him a place to stay until he regains conscious, but when he woke up, he couldn't remember anything. Not even his own name. So we gave him a home, gave something to eat, the honor of working with us, a name" his grin changed into anger expression "But in the end what did he do, WHAT DID HE DO!" flippers clutched, heat rising to the top of his head "He betrayed us!" he hit the table with his metal flipper, splitting it into halves.

The masked penguin went to his leader and placed a comforting flipper "Sir, please take it easy. Now that we found him, things will go smooth" he said darkly. The leader calmed down and moved away from the broken table. He grabbed a remote from the floor that was on the table before it was smashed. The superior penguin waddled to the large screen and turned it on, showing pictures of the flat-headed penguin. He smirked "You will learn the lesson soon Lee. You can't turn your back on this organization. Just wait and you'll see" and end it with a sinister laugh.

Meanwhile

It was 6:00 PM. The closing time for Central Park Zoo after a long day of entertaining visitors. The zoo keeper lady Alice was pushing and dragging people towards the exist "All right people, it's closing time, now get out here will you!" sheesh she's always in bad mood.

In the penguin habitat, Skipper and his men. Kowalski, Rico, and Private were waving for the leaving humans.

"Smile and wave boy, just smile and wave" Skipper said with a chill tune. Once every human was gone, the penguin leader smiled "And that was the end of another satisfying day" he turned to his boys and congratulate them "Nice work boys. Especially you young Private. Of all the cute and cuddly antics I've seen from you, today it was pure penguin gold" he stared at him fondly. In truth, Private was like a little brother or even a son to the avian captain and was ready to do anything for him.

Private giggled by the compliment and replied "Oh thank you Skipper, I've been practicing, and I do enjoy spreading smiles and joy into people's hearts, actually. Just like the Lunacorns" he exclaimed with a rainbow smiled. Rico shrugged while Skipper rolled his eyes. Man the kid needs a new role model to look up to. It has to be a penguin, but what TV show has penguins doing commando stuff, hmm.

Soon the aquatic birds went inside HQ, and each one of them attended his usual spot. Skipper went to the coffee maker and made himself some black fish coffee, now that's an extreme drink for artic machos. Kowalski locked himself in his lab with his never-ending experiments and gismos. Rico was reading a comic book in his bunk, at least seeing the colorful pictures and as for Private it was telly time.

They stayed like this until it was dinner time. The penguin commander got up and announced "All right boys, its dinner time. Private, go get Kowalski and Rico, you help me with the table settings"

"Aye-aye Skipper" the two saluted and did as they told. The rookie moved away from the TV and went to get the scientist out of his lab. Private thought he would be really hungry since he never gets out for even a snack.

While the manic helped Skipper set the table. Skipper went to the kitchen to get the plates and food and Rico up chucked some plastic knives and forks and put. One plastic knifes and a fork for each.

After some time, Private managed get Kowalski out of his lab and they both sat down. Everything was set. "All right men, because you did a great job today. We're gonna have….Sushi!" Skipper exclaimed and the team cheered. Boy, how they loved tasty food from the land of the rising sun that is Japan. Skipper looked up to the crazy penguin "Ready Rico?" The manic nodded and put on his chief hat.

He used his big knives to slice the fish and remove the skin. He swung them so fast you can barely see what's happening to the fish. For a wild, destruction machine like Rico, the bird was totally focused on his job.

Finally, the sushi is served. It was the Futomaki rolls; it's a type of sushi that is formed into cylindrical pieces wrapped with edible seaweed that is called Nori in Japan. Rico bowed and other clapped for him, and they dug in. Though no one knew where the rice or seaweeds came from since they observed his movements and didn't see any on the table, but didn't care. It's Rico after all. That crazy bird is an unsolvable riddle.

Once the rolls got into their beaks their eyes widen. It was so good. The flavor was out of this world. They savored every bite of salty delicacy "Nice work on the rolls Rico" Skipper exclaimed. Rico rubbed his neck sheepishly.

Skipper thought watching some TV would make this meal even more delighting so, he gave an order to the scientist "Kowalski, switch on TV, let's see what they have on the news channel"

"Roger that Skipper!" Kowalski grabbed the remote and switched the channel. A man with silver hair appeared "This is Chuck Charles reporting you live from the center of New York City" he was standing in the middle of a street and the sight was unpleasant. The street was half destroyed. There were mail boxes and garbage cans scattered everywhere. Windows smashed and even cars flipped over. Like if a stampede of Rhinos passed there.

"As you can see, the entire area is destroyed. And the funny fact is that no one knows for sure what caused this major havoc" he wandered around and asked a woman who owned one of the destroyed shops. She said that she was working in her shop and nothing seem suspicious when suddenly, there was a black out. Then she heard loud noises and smashing coming from everywhere. First she thought they were robbers but when the lights turned back on the whole place was trashed. She went outside to get help but was shocked when she saw the whole street flipped up-side-down.

The penguin team was astonished. Not even they could cause such critical damage in such short period of time. Whoever did it must be super-fast or maybe they were hundreds of them. But the question is who? Hans, Dr. Blowhole, the Red Squirrel, or maybe the rats.

Then Chuck continued his wandering and encountered a waste collector wearing an orange coat. He walked to him and stretched his microphone "Excuse me sir, but can you tell the audience what you think about this crisis" the man paused and turned around. When he removed his white mask, the penguin team gasped "X!"

"That's right kids, it's X and I know who's behind this sick wave of devastation" the American-African man clutched his hand. X was a former animal control officer, then an exterminator, a temporary zoo keeper, a fish monger, a food shop employee, but he and the penguins always come face to face in the most unexpected places every time, get into a fight and in the end he gets fired for the mess that's left from the battle.

Chuck raised an eye brow "Is it the penguins?" he taunted to receive a spine- freezing glare from the collector "Yes it's them, and this time I can prove it" he claimed as he dragged the reporter to a wall and showed them a black mark that is drawn with spray cans. It was a circular symbol of a black penguin with its wings curved into an arch to the sky. Skipper's eyes widen when he recognized that mark.

"See I told, it's the penguins mark to show us that their planning for an invasion, I can smell the penguin's stench from it" and he grabbed the camera and stared at the screen "I would like to take this moment to say. I TOLD YOU SO! How do you like me now momma huh-huh?"

Kowalski turned off the TV by the scene. Utter silence. Then laughter. The three soldiers thought X's theory was nothing but complete rubbish "Oh look at me, I'm Officer X, and I told you so!" that was Kowalski pretending to be X with a think, deep voice but, when they glared at their leader the laughter stopped. Skipper was like if he was frozen in time with his beak hanging wide open.

The trio glanced at each other in puzzlement of whether he still didn't recover by the scene and about burst in laughter and mocks him, or something was bugging him.

"Um Skippah, are you all right" Private broke the silence with his British accent.

No reply

"Hello, Skipper can you hear me" the scientist tried too, still no reply. The leader was lost in his own world, spacing out. Rico waved a flipper in front him until he got sick of it and shook him "Wa'p"

Skipper jumped by the sudden call "Wha, what, who?"

"Skipper, what happen? You were so oblivious and out of our reach" the strategist asked. The avian leader looked nervous "Ah, nothing, nothing at all, I'm just….tired" he faked a yawn "Well, time to hit the bed, boys, nighty-night" he climbed his bunk and turned to the wall, he faked snoring.

The team grew suspicious but decided to leave it for tomorrow. It was getting late anyway so, they climbed their bunks and soon drifted into the world of dreams. Skipper shot an eye open. He looked above him to other bunks to check if they were asleep. He sighed "How did they found me, what will I do now?" he thought maybe some sleep would help him get his mind off those thoughts and closed his eyes and drifting away.

Suddenly, Skipper shot his eyes open to find himself lying on a grassy hill. It was a starless night and there was a dusty road beside him. He looked around and nobody was there. Until his gaze fell on a penguin figure in the distance. He was as tall as he was but more muscular and wore bitter black glasses and a brown field cap.

"Jake…" Skipper murmured with grief. The mysterious penguin turned his back to him and waddled away. Skipper tried to catch up. To his surprise he was moving but going nowhere. He tried harder but it felt like if he was moving in slow motion. The other penguin waddled away on the dusty road until he was out of sight.

Skipper was finally able to move normally and he belly-slid to the hill. He saw many roads but didn't know which one the other took. Skipper frowned and knelt and started hitting the ground with anger. Then he realized he wasn't on the hill anymore but in dark void, surrounded by three mirrors. Each mirror had a different reflection of him. One was him as Skipper. One was him clad in black and holding a black mask. And the third which was the creepiest. It was blank. It didn't have a reflection like if his third reflection or identity is lost.

Suddenly memories and flashbacks burst in his mind. Memories of him being with his teammates and others with masked penguins. He held his head in pain.

"_**Who was I been?"**_

Skipper gasped awake. He looked around in fright. He sighed with relief when he recognized the HQ. He frowned and looked down "I knew this day will come. I have no choice" he jumped out of the bunk and looked at his men with a sad smile "Well boys, it's time for this bird to take off, again"

In the next morning. The three penguins woke up, but surprised too. Why didn't Skipper wake them up earlier, he always does? Private met Kowalski and greeted him "Morning Kowalski" Private chirped. "Morning Private, say, have you seen Skipper because I haven't"

"Not really, and I looked everywhere for him" now the youth began to worry "Do you think he's all right" he asked with concern. Kowalski gave him a comforting smile "Don't worry Private, I'm sure Skipper is probably doing one of his secret solo missions and will be back once he's done"

Rico who was still in his bunk half asleep got up and whipped away his drool. He jumped out of his bunk and waddled to his two companions "Mo'nin" he greeted and the two greeted back. He asked them about Skipper but they didn't have the slightest idea.

The manic spotted something on the table. It was Skipper's recorder. He went to get a better look it. Why would Skipper leave his recorder behind like that? It seems to contain a message. The trio looked at each other in confusion and it was the analyst to press the button. The type was played for them.

"Kowalski, Rico, and young Private. If you're hearing this message right now, it means I'm gone. I know you're wondering why, but that will remain a secret. What I want you to know is that I'm no longer apart of this unit and you must go on without me. Kowalski, from this day on you're in charge of leading this unit. Rico you're the toughest member of the team so I'm counting on you to protect your teammates. And Private…be strong…for me, I know you'll go far….I'm sorry boys but I have to go. Skipper out.

(Look up to the Penguins of Madagascar: What if Skipper left? On Tumblr by Extreme Light 9"

Silence fell. Everyone was speechless. What just happen? Was what they heard was true? "Skippah…is gone!?"

In the otter habitat. Marlene woke up with a beautiful, red rose and a white card beside her. She held the rose with confusion "Who could this be from?" she thought out loud. Then she opened the card and her eyes widen. There was a picture of a flat-headed penguin waving "Skipper…"

Meanwhile

The flat-headed penguin was waddling in the park. His destination was unknown, but he knew one thing for sure "It's for the best. boys, Marlene. I'll miss you"

A/N: So what do you think, I think it was amazing. Stay tuned for more.


	2. Chapter 2 - Stalker's mask

Chapter 2 – Stalker's mask

A/N: Hey guys, the second chapter is here.

Enjoy!

With every step, Skipper walked further from his home. And with it too, he felt guiltier about it. Why does he have to leave everyone and everything he cherishes behind? He got tired of running away from the organization, tired of keeping secrets from his friends and most of all tired of changing his identity despite the fact that he doesn't even remember his true one. Skipper was his name here. Lee was his name in his organization days, but his original name is lost. And now he must leave for everyone's sake and safety to who knows where.

He was so oblivious; he didn't see the tree in his way until he crashed into it. "Ouch" he jerked his head and stared above. He was familiar with the tree. It was Fred's home. The strange and a bit moronic squirrel who lives in Central Park. This was the tree but where's the rodent.

The avian commando detected movement in the bushes. He got into battle stance. He was expecting someone from the organization, but he returned to normal stance when he realized it was Fred.

"Hello" Fred greeted and raised an eye brow. "Hey, aren't there like four of you penguins, because I'm sure to see four penguins before. Yeah it's definitely four"

Fred was obviously not the sharpest tool in the shed and it's better to not start an intellectual conversation with him. Skipper sighed.

"I am leaving them" the former commander answered.

"Leaving to where?" Fred replied.

"I don't know"

Then it started.

"Then why leaving, if you don't know?" Fred argued.

"I don't know YET!" Exclaimed with annoyance.

"Okay, did you found out now?" he asked with his usual lazy look. Skipper eye rose "No!"

"How about….now?"

"No!"

"What about now?"

"NO!" Skipper's eyes twitched and cut the squirrel off before driving him nuts. "Will you listen? I left them okay? And now I need some time to think about where I should go. And until then I need a place to stay, so would you mind if I stayed here with you. Just for tonight, whaddya say?" the penguin placed his flippers on his hips and waited for an answer.

As for Fred he didn't mind "Weeell, okay" he added "But first I need to get these acorns stored in my house, it's for the winter….hy-hybir….heyrrr…" he became frustrated "Oh STUPID WORD I CAN'T REMEMBER!" he growled.

What Fred was trying to say is Winter Hibernation. It's a common and widespread survival strategy that most known wild mammals use to survive the dramatic change in weather in the winter. Skipper did recall hearing Kowalski say that they collect food and fatten themselves up to spend the next few months asleep.

The commando bird thought it would be fair to help the furry rodent with the food collecting since he will let him stay in his house for the night "Hey Fred, need a hand?" Skipper offered. Fred turned to him with a polite smile "Oh no thanks, my four paws are enough. And besides, where would you get me a hand? I thought you birds have wings or maybe those flappy thingies. And I'm not even sure what exactly would I do with a hand" he replied. Skipper face-flipped himself "I meant would-you- like- me- to-help- you!" The flat-headed bird was a few inches away from snapping on him.

"Oh, okay" he chirped and soon the gathering quest began. The two animals gathered acorns from all over the park. Actually it wasn't that hard since the nuts kept falling from the brown-leafed trees. They were done in no time and after storing them in Fred's hole, the rodent let the penguin stay in his house which was a hole in tree and the funny thing that it had a basement.

Once they were inside Fred offered Skipper one of his nuts "Acorn?" Skipper politely turned it down "No thanks, my furry mammal friend" But in true Fred wasn't giving him an acorn "No I was just asking you if this is an acorn, because I sometimes get confused between an acorn and a pine cone. So I'm asking you if you see this as an acorn"

Skipper's beak fell. Note to self: If you ever met anyone from the organization, punch them in the face!

Skipper sat down and got comfortable and watched the brown furry rodent fill his mouth with nuts. He wondered how his troop is doing without him. Despite his decision of making Kowalski the leader, he knew his teammate quite well. True he is smart and confident and all, but he panics easily and his inventions always end up terrifying the zoo or whip every living in a five miles blast.

Sighing.

Meanwhile

Marlene rushed to the penguin habitat to see if it's true, if Skipper is really gone. When she entered HQ, she saw three commando penguins crying and sobbing all over the place "Skipper, why…w-why did you have to go!" Kowalski whined.

They were having an emotional break-down and not even Marlene reacted that way. She cleared her throat to alert them of her presence. The three soldiers paused and glared back to her. They panicked and whipped away their tears and lined up "Hey, Marlene. How long have you been here, exactly?" the scientist asked with a nervous look. Paws on her hips she answered "For far too long" she had a blank expression on her face. The trio was embarrassed. "Well it's generally known that expressing your feelings is the best way to react to a situation!" the scientist claimed.

The otter rolled her eyes "Whatever. Now listen, I found a letter in my habitat that says that Skipper had left us….is that true?" she asked with watery eyes. The team of three didn't know how explain it to her. Private was the one to start "Well yes…he did and without even telling us why" Private whimpered.

The otter was speechless "That's…that's just, he's a…argh" she pulled herself together "H-How could he be so…heartless. Does he really think it's that easy! To leaves us behind without explaining why!" she clutched her paws and steam on.

"Well, I guess there is only one thing left to do…" Kowalski said with a frown. He rushed to his lab. Noises of crashing and smashing were heard. He soon burst out of his lab with a commander cap on his "To welcome your new leader! That's right BABY! Commander Kowalski is at your service!" he exclaimed. Everyone paused and stared blankly.

"Seriously…?"

"What too soon?" It was the strategist dream to lead the penguin squad. "Yup" assured Rico. Marlene boiled and walked ominously to the newly leader with a murderous look. The scientist swallowed. "I can't believe you! Skipper is missing and all what you think about is leadership, Kowalski!?" golden met blue gaze as she held him from the chest. "Well…I.." he lost the words and glared to his two comrades, hoping for some back up here, but they stood and watched "Sorry…" Private whispered.

Then the otter's expression changed from mad to calm and a bit sly "Ya know what? You will lead this team Kowalski" she said with sly smile. Kowalski lighten up "Really!?" asked hopefully.

"Yes, you will. You will lead this team to FIND Skipper and BRING him back to the zoo!" she growled. Kowalski stumbled "Well, I…I of course. Yes mam" he waddled in front of the animals and stood proudly "Commence operation: Find the Skipper!" the newly leader exclaimed. The squad saluted and followed his lead outside.

They split into two search parties: Kowalski and Rico searched the habitats while Private and Marlene looked in Alice's office for any clues. They finally met up but clueless about their friend's whereabouts.

"Maybe he's in the park. If we hurried, we might catch up with him" suggested Private. Kowalski gave a command "To the park, Asap"

When they arrived, the park was quiet. Quiet in the creepiest possible way. The team got each other. They were sure that someone was watching them. The tension rising. Fur and feathers stood straight. "Um…guys, I think it will be better to…high tail out of HERE!" she freaked out and ran back to the zoo but froze when she saw a penguin figure standing not far away in front of her. "Skipper…?" she muttered.

No reply

They grew suspicious. The otter slowly pulled back and stood next to the trio. "Identify yourself!" the leader demanded.

Still no reply

The figures finally respond and walked slowly to them. They gasped. The penguin's entire body was clad in black and his black mask had big white glowing eyes. The team got into fight stance. The silent foe made sound of smirk and charged at them.

Back to Skipper, he was sitting and thinking his next step. He pulled something out of the sack. It was a golden locket. Some many memories came back to haunt him. A memory of his long lost friend Jake flashed back.

The penguin with bitter black glasses gave him the locket "**If you ever met them again in the future, they'll try everything to bring you back or kill you if it must. So don't be afraid, the answer is within your flippers**" he said and left. Skipper opened the locket and saw a golden symbol of a twin penguin heads (Look up to the story picture above)

Skipper looked serious and held the locket tight "Jake, thanks to you. I have the answer. I won't run, never again. It's time for the Penguin Brotherhood to rise again!" he exclaimed. Then Fred popped out of nowhere "Oh my name's not Jake, its Fred" he exclaimed.

Skipper yelped "Wha-you….I argh I wasn't talking to you I was talking to…" he gave in "Oh never mind. Anyway thanks for the hospitality, but now I have to go back to the zoo" he saluted and jumped for the exit. Leaving Fred paused "We have a zoo?"

In the meantime, the trio of penguins was getting a rough beating. Their silent attacker was fast, strong and ruthless. Kowalski was sent flying into a tree. He was hurt and unable to move. He saw Rico switching kicks and punches with the enemy. The maniac was about to do a low kick his leader taught him but to his surprise his attacker did it on him. He was sent flying and landed near the frightened otter "Rico!"

Then they heard a cry. They gasped when they saw the Private locked from the neck by the assassin. The little guy struggled to break free but there was no use. He felt his enemy pressing harder and harder on his neck.

"Private!" Marlene cried.

"Let him go you fiend!" Kowalski demanded but the mysterious enemy resumed choking him. It was hopeless. They thought it will be the end. Until a familiar voice shouted.

"Let him go, Stalker!"

Their gaze followed the voice and saw a flat-headed penguin standing not far from them.

"Skipper you came back!" the newly leader exclaimed.

The bossy penguin smirked "Let him go, I'm the one you want" he said. The Stalker released the kid and turned to the captain. They both got into battle stance and charged at each other. To everyone's surprise, the two were using the same fighting style and the same techniques. The stalker threw a punch and Skipper blocked it. Then he swift kicked him. Sending him flying backward. He landed on his feet and stood calm. He pulled something out of his belt pouch and threw it to the commando bird. Skipper grabbed it and watched as the Stalker threw a smoke bomb. Blue clouds of smoke blocked the view for a while and soon disappeared along with black silent enemy.

Skipper examined the item. It was his Stalker badge which is black with the silver winged penguin arch symbol. He hid it when his friends came to check on him. "Skippah, are you hurt?" asked little Private. Skipper grinned. "It will take more than that to get your leader hurt, young Private"

The animals lighten up or at least three of them by the news "So you're not leaving then?" the otter questioned. The flat-headed turned to her "Of course not, this whole thing was all a part of a…drill" he lied. Blank faces glared at him.

"A drill!"

Later that evening, the four penguins were back to HQ. Skipper and his men sat around the dining table. He told them what they will hear is tippy-top classified and no one should know about. The three penguins got nervous. It was the first time their leader tells them about one of his secret. Private was excited "Is it about you and Denmark, Skippah?" Private asked hopefully while Skipper shook his head "It told you many times Private. That's between me and the Demes"

He took a deep breath and began "All right boys, listen carefully because I ain't saying it twice. Long ago, I was a member in a secret organization called 'The Black Wings' they lived in hidden and went on secret missions to look for something not even I know for sure what it was, but a friend of mine from there told me it ain't pleasant. Once I found out, me and he ran off separated but never me again. But he knew that they will not rest until they get us so, he gave me this" he showed them the locket and opened it to reveal the golden symbol of the twin penguin heads.

"He told me it will be the answer to my problem and the solution to stop those dark souls from getting their flippers on the secret item. We must reform the legendary Penguin Brotherhood!"

The three penguins gasped "Did you say th-the penguin Brotherhood?" Kowalski stumbled "But it's just a story for baby hatchlings, Skipper we can't-"Skipper face-slapped him "Oh yes we can and we will. We'll search high and low in every corner of this big-wide world for the worthy penguins to join us on our greatest challenge yet. Stopping the Black Wings"

A/N: Now that was epic. The next chapters will contain some characters you'll recognize and some OCs that I own. Stay tuned.


	3. Chapter 3 - Sinister shadows

**Chapter 3– Sinister shadows  
**

**A/N: I know there were two chapters here before but I replaced them becaue they didn't follow the plot.**

* * *

There was a penguin clad in black walking through a white, featureless passage. Many questions were going inside his mind as he stepped to a bitter black door. He took a deep breath before knocking. "Come in" someone answered. The Stalker opened the door and walked in. Inside the room was the superior penguin with the metal flipper waiting for him. The stalker saluted "Sir, I have completed my mission" the penguin announced. The penguin leader was standing in the opposite direction of the penguin assassin. He had his flippers behind his back "And how did it go, exactly" he asked with his deep, hard voice.

The Stalker folded his flippers and shrugged "Those three are a bunch of losers. I can beat them with my flippers behind my back" he mocked.

The superior gave him a glanced "And Lee..." he asked, ignoring the other penguins.

The clad in black penguin looked serious "Strong as ever, sir" he replied. After learning what he wanted to know he dismissed his minion, but then noticed some hesitation in him "Is there anything wrong?" he asked, showing some concern. The Stalker had something to say but he didn't want to bother his leader with his questions. He gathered himself and spoken "Well, it's about my mission sir"

The leader raised a brow "And what about it?"

He rubbed his head sheepishly "I don't mean to question your commands and decisions sir, but I can't understand why did you send me to give Lee his Stalker's badge" Getting nervous, he waited for an answer.

The penguin leader smirked. That Stalker is the most loyal to him. He always follows orders and does his missions without hesitation or holding back. Asking questions was out of his character. He gazed to the screen that showed their former flat-headed member "It's was a message for Lee" he replied.

"A message?" the stalker repeated.

"Yes a message" the leader walked closer to the screen "I wanted to remind Lee of where he belongs. I wanted to give him one last chance to come back to us" with every step his expression got colder

"Like I said before, there is no way out of this organization. If the little bird won't come back to the nest, then we'll drag him back" he said darkly. The Stalker got the idea and grinned "Understood"

The Stalker saluted and left the room. The superior was alone again. He turned to the big screen and grabbed the remote. The picture of Skipper and his team zoomed and focused on Private. The superior smirked "Soon everything will be set. We are close to our goal more than ever and 'the key' to the truth will be ours at last!" he finished with a dark chuckle.

A/N:What do you think the Superior penguin meant by the key to the truth and what it has to do with Private?

Find out in the next chapters.


	4. Chapter 4 - A stranger in Central Park

Chapter 3 – A stranger in Central Park

A/N: Hi guys, I'm finally done with the final exams and now we can proceed from where we stopped.

Sorry for changing the chapter again, I wasn't sure about how the fourth chapter will be like back then, but now I'm sure that this is how it goes.

Anyway, enjoy!

It was the final day before winter, the season of snow. The leaves changed from orange to red and fallen into the grass and all the animals in Central Park are done with the food gathering, in other words, everyone was ready to greet the new season.

Skipper and the gang were in the middle of an exercise session with some training dummies when Skipper dismissed to go on a solo mission in which he had been doing many lately. And his men have been hankering to know where he goes on these tasks.

Private scratched his head confused and looked up to the scientist, "Kowalski, do you have any idea where Skipper goes on those missions?" Private asked his teammates.

Kowalski rubbed his chin to gather his thoughts and replied "I'm afraid I don't Private, perhaps on some top secret military assignments, or maybe he's tracking down a secret agent of some sort" the scientist suggested.

As for Rico he wasn't interested in anything they were saying, in fact, he had something else going on in his mind. He turned to two friends and grinned, "Wanna go for snow cones" Rico offered.

Private jumped and clapped his flippers with joy "Yes, of course!" the young bird agreed, and the other tall bird nodded and soon the three of them went towards the exit.

Along the way, the three birds argued about which snow cone flavor is the best. The psychopath began, "Blue berries, blue berries!" Rico chirped.

Private however rubbed his neck unsure about that, "Cheez I don't know Rico, I think strawberry snow cones are quite tasty" Private said.

Kowalski on the other hand didn't accept any of those opinions, he crossed his flippers and shrugged, "Pfft, you're both wrong, I am a scientist which means I have more knowledge and experience than either of you and I say that grape snow cones are the best, no doubt about it" Kowalski claimed smugly.

Their arguing didn't seems to be coming to an end until someone else joined the debate, "Well I think cherry snow cones are the best of them all" a voice said from behind them.

The three birds spun around and spotted a penguin coming towards them, he wore a light brown coat; bitter black glasses that make it impossible for anyone to see his eyes and a brown field cap, "Yup, I tried them once and I just can't get enough" he assured them with a calm impression.

The trio became aware of the stranger and got into stance, Kowalski was the one to speak this time, "And who you're supposed to be?" he asked with suspense, considering the possibilities that this stranger could be a possible enemy or a spy for the organization.

The stranger stopped a few meters away from them and replied "My name has no importance now but, I have something for you"

Skipper and Marlene sat down on two chairs around small wooden table in the otter's habitat. A red rose in a glass vase, two cups of grape juice and magic in the air. The two stared at each other passionately, but the moment was interrupted when suddenly someone called from Skipper's Walkie-Talkie.

"Hello Skippah, can you read me!", Private said through the Walkie-Talkie.

Marlene's jaw fell and stared daggers at Skipper for brining that thing with him on their date. Skipper chuckled nervously and answered the call "Um…Private, now's not the time. I'm really busy right now and-"he paused when Private interrupted and told him about the stranger and the thing he gave them, cause his eyes to widen, "What!?" he responded, "Don't move, I'll be there in a second. Skipper out!" he dismissed.

Then a brow fell when he saw the disappointed look on his girlfriend's face. He had to deliver the bad news to her despite how he hated doing that. He looked down ashamed and said to her without making an eye contact, "Marlene...listen I'm sorry, but I-"

"It's okay Skipper" she interrupted, "I understand, you have work to do, and I can't stop you from doing your duties" she said with a forced smile.

"Are you sure?" he asked unconfidently.

"Yes, now go your team needs you!" she insisted.

Wasting no time he made his way towards the exit, leaving the disappointed otter to her grief. He knew Marlene quite well, she unlike any girl he ever seen has a leading personality, she would rather count on her abilities instead of following others command and never let her feelings stop her from doing what she truly think is right.

And he may not show it but the bird felt really guilty about leaving her behind. And it's not like he has a choice, as leader he has responsibilities and abandoning them means failing as a skipper and letting everyone down which is the last thing on Skipper's mind.

And maybe later, he would think of way to make it up to her, yeah, like throwing her a party or inviting her for dinner, play her a song on the guitar and-

"**And why do you care?"**

Skipper paused and spun around, "Who said that!?" he shouted but no one replied. It was just him and usually silent walls of the zoo, and there's no way Marlene would go after him in a quest of pay back or otherwise.

He rubbed his beak suspiciously and ignored what happen, believing it might have been the guilt feeling playing tricks on him. But even though he convinced himself that it was just his imagination, he couldn't stop thinking about it. The very sound of that voice made a chill run over him. It sounded like his own voice only colder and darker which thrilled him to the core and made him question its source.

At the very moment he shook his head from these distracting thoughts and resumed his walking, now was not the time for flights of fantasy. He had somewhere else to attend to and his teammates are probably waiting for him, so he wasted no time and hurried to his men.


	5. Chapter 5- A voice from the unknown

Chapter 5 – A voice from the unknown

A/N: Like I said before, there will be some OCs in this fanfic. Their roles are minor but very effective in this story.

After ending his date with Marlene, Skipper assembled with his team at the penguin base where they told him more about the mysterious visitor and the box he gave them.

The four flightless birds stood around the table and stared at the card board box curiously.

"So when I left on my mission, a penguin came out-of-nowhere, gave you this box here" he pointed at the box in the middle table, "And then left without even telling you his name?" Skipper asked and the three birds nodded.

The avian leader rubbed his chin to consume all the information, "Okay, so let's open it and see what's inside it" Skipper suggested.

"I'm on it Skipper!" Kowalski saluted and intended to open the card board box. It took him about thirty seconds to remove the sticky tape and open it.

"So…?" Skipper waited.

"It's a book!" Kowalski announced and took the book out of the box. The four penguins gazed at the book confusedly. Noting looked too special about it more than being old and worn out. Its red leather cover was more of the brown and it had some ink stains on it.

"Well the penguin in the black glasses did say what's inside the box will help us understand what we don't. So maybe if we read the book we'll find out what does he mean by that" Private said.

Skipper folded his flippers and nodded "Okay so be it" he glances to the weapon expert and points to the hatch, "Rico go get the chimps ASAP, we need their reading skills help us unlock the hidden secrets in this book" he commanded and Rico saluted "Aye-Aye Skipper!" he said and made his to the hatch.

"I don't think that will be necessary Skipper" Kowalski told them, "I may not know how to read but I can easily see that this book isn't written in English. Therefor the chimps won't be any help for us"

Skipper face-flipped himself, "Fish and Chips!" he muttered, "Now what're we going to do?" he asked his teammates.

The three birds tabbed their beaks thoughtfully. As far as they know the only animal that can read in all of the zoo are Phil and Mason but since the book isn't written in English they can't read it, nobody else can.

"Also, judging by the book's terrible condition and the writer's method of writing I would say this book is about a hundred years old, maybe more" Kowalski explained which made things a lot more complicated.

Then an idea hit Private, "How about we ask my uncle Nigel" Private offered, getting everyone's attention, "He used to study old things and explore historical places back in his youth. So maybe he can read the book for us" Private suggested.

Skipper thought of it for a while and came up with a plan "All right then, Private, you and Kowalski will find a way to contact your uncle and ask him to come and read the book for us" he said and turned to weapon to the weapon expert, "Rico I want you to search the zoo for any clues that will help us discover who was that penguin in the black glasses" he commanded and the three saluted "Yes sir!"

After that, Kowalski hurried to his lab followed by Private in order to find a way to contact Nigel, while Rico made his to the hatch, leaving their leader to his concerns.

Skipper sighed in depression; he had been going through a lot of stress lately due to the return of the Black Wings and their threat to the entire city and now there's that mysterious penguin who gave them this book.

Skipper took his golden locket and held it in his flipper; he remembered the description of the stranger that Kowalski gave him, "_A brown field cap, jet black glasses, and light brown coat_", He Knew one penguin with that kind of description, his old friend Jake who died ten years ago when he tried to destroy the organization's hideout with a bomb. It was the night when he and Jake betrayed the Black Wings, Skipper did survive the explosion but he never seen Jake again, so he assumed he sacrificed himself to save everyone in Antarctica from the organization's dominance.

But what if Jake survived the blast and now he's helping them to stop the enemy once more? Maybe he can see long lost friend again.

"**Idiot…"**

Skipper paused, it was that voice again, cold and dark like the time before.

"**Why bother holding on to these worthless memories? They do you no good" said the voice.**

Skipper's eyes widen, "What are you talking about?" he asked.

The voice smirked and replied "**You don't get it do you? There's no point of keeping those memories when they won't last with you. One by one they all will fade away no matter what you do or how important they are. Just like those who you call…'friends'**" it stressed the last word.

"What's that supposed to mean? My men will never ditch me!" Skipper claimed.

"**What!? Do you honestly think they'll follow you forever, of course not. Someday they'll turn their backs on you, like if you're part of the past. Therefor you can't trust them. Listen to me Skipper, trust yourself, live for yourself, and savor your hate and anger. You're not normal Skipper; you are different than the others"**

The avian leader sweat-dropped, losing his calm, "No…no, you're wrong, they won't do that, and I am me, nobody else!" Skipper growled.

"**Oh we shall see…" **it said.

Skipper shook his head roughly, slaps himself, and hits head against the wall, anything to make that evil voice go away, "Leave me alone, leave me alone!" he cried.

Suddenly, Julian and his two lemur subjects jumped down the hatch with plastic cut in his hands, "Hello my penguin neighbor, I just dropped by to borrow some money from you" the lemur king said.

Skipper who was feeling dizzy from all that hitting spun around and scowled "Just go away Ringtail, I don't have time you" Skipper dismissed.

King Julian was about to reply when he saw the golden shiny locket around Skipper's neck and grinned "Oh what's that…?" he snatched the locket and gazed at it in amazement "In my life I have never ever seen something so beautiful, beside myself. It's so gold, and shiny and gold…heh" he exclaimed.

"Hey give that back!" Skipper growled, but the lemur king ignored him. He became angry, his blood boiling; he lost his tempers and the sinister voice spoken to him once again.

"**What, you're going to stand there while that spoiled king takes what's rightfully yours? Show him who you are. Show them all, teach them to fear you!" **the voice told Skipper.

And this time Skipper did listen to that voice. He clutched his flippers and stared aggressively at Julian who noticed Skipper's eyes turning red, "I said…**give it back!" **Skipper shouted sounding like the voice in his head.

The three lemurs freaked out by the outburst and backed away. Skipper dashed to Julian and punched him in the stomach sending him flying across the base. The lemur winced and held his stomach in pain by powerful blow that Skipper delivered to his guts. The penguin caught the locket just in time before it fell on the floor and stared daggers back at the terrified lemurs, "**Get out of here…NOW!**" he shouts again and the three frightened lemurs ran towards the fish prize door and slammed the door shut behind them.

He was alone again, panting; he felt the heat slowly fading and realized what he had done. Yes the lemurs are annoying but they don't deserve to be treated like that, what on earth made him do that?

"What's happening to me?" Skipper asked and went to join Kowalski and Private before something else happens.

"**Hehe…"**

A/N: Creeping out, I know I am. Something is wrong with Skipper and you'll find out what in the upcoming chapters.


End file.
